Derbi is a manufacturer of

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...

s, scooters,

moped A moped ( ) is a type of small motorcycle, generally having a less stringent licensing requirement than full motorcycles or automobiles. Historically, the term exclusively meant a similar vehicle with both bicycle pedals and a motorcycle eng ...

s and recreational

all-terrain vehicle An all-terrain vehicle (ATV), also known as a light utility vehicle (LUV), a quad bike or quad (if it has four wheels), as defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), is a vehicle that travels on low-pressure tires, has a seat ...

s produced by Nacional Motor S.A.U., currently integrated into the Italian (2009)

Piaggio Group Piaggio Group () is an Italian motor vehicle manufacturer, which produces a range of two-wheeled motor vehicles and compact commercial vehicles under five brands: Piaggio (brand), Piaggio, Vespa, Aprilia, Moto Guzzi and Derbi. Its corporate hea ...

History

Derbi's origins began with a little

bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered transport, human-powered or motorized bicycle, motor-assisted, bicycle pedal, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two bicycle wheel, wheels attached to a ...

workshop Beginning with the Industrial Revolution era, a workshop may be a room, rooms or building which provides both the area and tools (or machinery) that may be required for the manufacture or repair of manufactured goods. Workshops were the only ...

in the village of Mollet near

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, founded in 1922 by Simeó Rabasa i Singla (1901–1988). The focus remained the repair and hire of bicycles until May 1944 when Rabasa formed a

limited liability Limited liability is a legal status in which a person's financial Legal liability, liability is limited to a fixed sum, most commonly the value of a person's investment in a corporation, company, or joint venture. If a company that provides limi ...

company named Bicycletas Rabasa with the aim of moving into

manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer ...

bicycles. The venture proved very successful and in 1946, supported by its profits, work began on a motorised version. More

than

, this first model, the 48cc SRS included plunger rear suspension, and a motorcycle type gas tank and exhaust system. The SRS proved so successful it prompted a change in the company's direction, and on November 7, 1950, the company changed its name to the Nacional Motor SA. Just prior to this, at that summer's Barcelona

Trade Fair A trade show, also known as trade fair, trade exhibition, or trade exposition, is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific Industry (economics), industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest Product (business), products and se ...

, the company unveiled its first real motorcycle, the Derbi 250. Derbi RAN 50cc 1972 front

First win in 1968 with Barry Smith at TT race, Derbi successfully competed in

Grand Prix motorcycle racing Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the highest class of motorcycle road racing events held on Road racing, road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held sin ...

, winning 50cc world championships in

1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

and

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

. When the 50cc class was increased to an 80cc displacement in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

, Derbi would claim four consecutive world championships between 1986 and

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

, before the class was discontinued in Grand Prix competition. The firm also experienced racing success in 125cc Grand Prix competitions, winning world championships in

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

, 1988,

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

and

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

Modern history

Unlike Ossa, Bultaco, and Montesa, Derbi successfully met the challenges that followed the

Spanish transition to democracy The Spanish transition to democracy, known in Spain as (; ) or (), is a period of History of Spain, modern Spanish history encompassing the regime change that moved from the Francoist dictatorship to the consolidation of a parliamentary system ...

and Spain's entry into the

European Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...

. Simeó Rabasa i Singla died in 1988 but the company remained independent until 2001, when it was bought out by the

Piaggio group Piaggio Group () is an Italian motor vehicle manufacturer, which produces a range of two-wheeled motor vehicles and compact commercial vehicles under five brands: Piaggio (brand), Piaggio, Vespa, Aprilia, Moto Guzzi and Derbi. Its corporate hea ...

The Derbi name

The name Derbi is an acknowledgement of the company's history, and is an

amalgamation Amalgamation is the process of combining or uniting multiple entities into one form. Amalgamation, amalgam, and other derivatives may refer to: Mathematics and science * Amalgam (chemistry), the combination of mercury with another metal **Pan ama ...

from the Catalan-phrase ''Derivats de BIcicletes'' (derivatives of bicycles).

Past Models

Pedal Mopeds *Derbi Variant SL *Derbi Variant SLE *Derbi Variant TT *Derbi Variant Sport *Derbi DS50, step through scooter *Derbi Diablo C4, enduro styling *Derbi Diablo C5, enduro styling (using the Variant engine and transmission) *Derbi RD50, enduro styling (using the Variant engine and transmission) *Derbi Laguna, road styling (some models using the Variant engine and transmission) *Derbi Laguna Sport Road * Derbi T 250 6V Scooters * Derbi Manhattan * Derbi Hunter * Derbi Predator * Derbi Paddock

Current Models

Road * Derbi GPR 50 * Derbi GPR 50 Nude * Derbi GPR 125 4T 4V * Derbi Cross City 125 * Derbi Etx 150 * Derbi Stx 150 * Derbi Mulhacén 125 * Derbi Mulhacén Café 125 Supermoto * Derbi Senda 50 * Derbi Senda X-Race/X-Treme 50 * Derbi Senda 125 4T SM * Derbi Mulhacén 659 * Derbi Terra Adventure 125 Scooters * Atlantis * Boulevard * GP1 *Bullet

References

External links

* {{125cc/Moto3 World Constructors' Champions Moped manufacturers Motorcycle manufacturers of Spain Piaggio Group Spanish brands